Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab Corporation is an aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider. They build rockets and satellites for space missions. Their Electron rocket has completed over 75 missions, launching small satellites into orbit. Rocket Lab also makes parts for satellites, such as star trackers, solar panels, and electric propulsion systems. They even build entire satellites and spacecraft.

Rocket Lab was started by Peter Beck in 2006 in New Zealand. In 2009, they became the first private company in the Southern Hemisphere to reach space with their Ātea-1 sounding rocket. In 2013, the company moved to the United States, setting up headquarters in Huntington Beach, California, before later moving to Long Beach in 2020. Their Electron rocket reached space in 2017 and orbit in 2018.

The company builds and operates satellites for both commercial companies like Globalstar and government customers like the Space Development Agency. Rocket Lab has also bought several other companies to grow its business. In August 2021, Rocket Lab became a public company by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company and listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange. As of May 2025, Rocket Lab had over 2,600 employees around the world, with more than 700 based in New Zealand.

History

Rocket Lab was founded in June 2006 by Peter Beck in New Zealand. He wanted to create low-cost rockets for small satellites. The company launched its first rocket, Ātea-1, in 2009 from New Zealand but it did not succeed.

In 2013, Rocket Lab moved its headquarters to Huntington Beach, California. This helped the company grow and get more support from the United States. By 2021, Rocket Lab became a public company and started building bigger rockets. They also began working on ways to reuse their rockets, which helps save money and resources.

Rocket Lab has grown quickly. By 2026, they had over 2,600 employees and had completed more than 75 successful launches of their Electron rocket. They are also developing new rockets and technologies, like the Neutron rocket and a probe to study Venus. In 2026, they also got a big contract to test new hypersonic technology for the United States Department of Defense.

Hardware

Electron orbital rocket

The Electron is a rocket made by Rocket Lab that can carry small satellites into space. It uses special engines called Rutherford engines, which are made mostly by printing metal layers together. These engines are powered by electric motors instead of burning fuel. The Electron can carry about 150 kilograms into a circle around Earth 500 kilometers high. Each launch costs less than five million dollars.

Rocket Lab has had many launches with Electron. Some early flights had problems, but most have been successful. The rocket can carry small satellites for different customers. In 2020, Rocket Lab began trying to bring the bottom part of the rocket back after a launch. They have tried catching it with a helicopter and letting it land softly in the water.

HASTE suborbital rocket

HASTE is a smaller rocket made from the Electron. It is used to test new technologies for flying very fast but not all the way around Earth. HASTE can carry more weight than Electron—up to 700 kilograms. It can launch things from 80 kilometers high or higher. Rocket Lab has done several HASTE missions and plans to do many more in the next few years.

Neutron reusable rocket

Rocket Lab is building a new, bigger rocket called Neutron. It will be 40 meters tall and able to carry heavier payloads. The plan is to make the bottom part reusable, like how SpaceX brings back its rockets. Neutron will launch from a special spaceport on the east coast of the United States. Work is underway to build the tools and engines needed for Neutron. The first launch is expected around the middle of 2025.

Ātea sounding rocket

The Ātea rocket was Rocket Lab’s very first rocket. It flew once in 2009 from an island near New Zealand. This small rocket was about 6 meters long and could carry a tiny payload up to 120 kilometers high. After the flight, the rocket fell back into the ocean. This test helped Rocket Lab learn things that made the Electron rocket possible.

Photon satellite bus

The Photon is a small satellite made by Rocket Lab. It can carry different tools and experiments into space. The Photon can also act as a mini-spacecraft, helping other satellites or going on its own missions. It has been used to test new ideas and carry scientific tools into orbit.

Notable missions

In February 2020, NASA chose Rocket Lab to launch the CAPSTONE mission. CAPSTONE is a small satellite that will test a special orbit around the Moon. This helps make future Moon missions safer. The launch happened in June 2022 from New Zealand, and CAPSTONE finished its main job in July 2023.

Rocket Lab also worked on a special rocket fuel in 2012 that is safe and easy to handle. In 2011, they created a small flying camera system for military use that could quickly get up high to take pictures.

In October 2024, NASA gave Rocket Lab a contract to study ways to bring samples back from Mars.

Facilities

Manufacturing

In October 2018, Rocket Lab opened a new manufacturing facility in Auckland, New Zealand. This facility helps make important parts of rockets and brings everything together before a launch at Launch Complex 1. The company’s headquarters in Long Beach, California, builds special rocket engines called Rutherford engines and other important parts.

The main manufacturing happens in Long Beach, where pieces of rockets are made and put together before being sent to the launch site in New Zealand. The first part of the Electron rocket is made from a special kind of material called carbon composite that is both strong and light.

In late 2019, Rocket Lab started using a robot named “Rosie the Robot” to help make parts faster. This robot can build, cut, and shape the rocket parts, making the process much quicker.

In October 2023, Rocket Lab bought new facilities in Warkworth, New Zealand from SailGP. This helped Rocket Lab make more rockets and develop new ones like the Neutron. Later that same year, Rocket Lab opened an Engine Development Center in Long Beach to build more engines.

In November 2023, Rocket Lab announced plans to build a new facility in Middle River, Maryland to make advanced parts for space missions. Rocket Lab also has facilities in other places like Albuquerque, New Mexico, Littleton, Colorado, and Toronto, Canada.

Launch Complex 1

Launch Complex 1 (LC-1) is Rocket Lab’s private launch site on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand. It has two launch pads, a place to prepare rockets, and a control center. It was built especially for launching the Electron rocket, which is used for sending small satellites into space.

Originally, Rocket Lab planned to launch from Kaitorete Spit but later chose the Māhia Peninsula as the main site. LC-1A, the first part of the complex, opened in September 2016. In February 2022, LC-1B had its first launch.

LC-1 has been busy since 2017, launching for customers like NASA and the U.S. Air Force.

Launch Complex 2

Main article: Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport

In late 2018, Rocket Lab chose MARS as its second launch site. Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) is located within MARS Launch Pad 0A. Construction finished in December 2019, and the first launch from LC-2 happened on 24 January 2023.

Launch Complex 3

Main article: Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport § Launch Pad 0D (LP-0D)/Launch Complex-3 (LC-3)

In October 2023, work began on a new launch site called Launch Pad 0D (LP-0D), also known as Launch Complex 3 or LC-3. In August 2025, LC-3 officially opened with a ceremony attended by Rocket Lab staff and the Governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin.